Today I and two others picketed/protested $cientology in Clearwater. It
was an excellent opportunity to inform a large crowd of younger concert
goers, as there was an all-day rock concert in downtown's Coachman Park.

Hundreds of music fans of all ages and hairstyles mobbed the
downtown area across from $cientology's Sandcastle and near their
Osceola buildings.

We mainly stood near the Osceola Street entrance to the park, after a
brief stand near the Ft. Harrison. About 300 fliers were distributed,
we used Kristi's "$cientology Hurts People" backed with "What Judges
Say," and most reactions were very appreciative and enthusiastic at our
being there. The cult had a small canopy and a table in front of the
Osceola fountain, with a table full of Hubbard books and a few of them
were handing out free personality tests! I tried to give people who
were given one of those a flier, to properly balance things out. I
noticed many of the personality test fliers ended up on the ground near
the concert entrance, yet only a few of our fliers seemed to get tossed.

We were there from about 11:30 a.m. til about 1:45 p.m., and for the
majority of the time we were under surveillance by the khaki-clad OSA
security dudes. Paul Kellerhals was spotted early on, and the security
guys mostly stayed near the police that were handling traffic and crowd
control for the concert. One seemed particularly interested in taping
me this time.

At past pickets, I would only videotape. But $cientology harassment has
pulled in a more direct approach, which was the distribution of the
flers. I also wore my shirt with Lisa McPherson's autopsy report on one
side, and Stacy Myer's death certificate on the other, with letters in
red "Blood on Scientology's Hands."

One guy was standing near us a while as he waited for his son to arrive
at the concert. We talked, and he seemed fairly well informed about
$cientology. He came up to me to point out the camera pointed at us by
$cientology's OSA, and he asked me what they would say if he asked them
why they were filming us. I suggested he go ask, which he did. He said
they were mostly noncommittal, saying that they were taping us because
we were "troublemakers." He suggested that it was actually an attempt
at intimidation.

I have some other things to do yet this afternoon, I will try to post a
little more later on tonight as a follow up. Some pictures from today
will also be posted on a.b.s. shortly.

MK
--
"Did you ever read poor old George Orwell's uh... 1984? Yes, yes, that's
wonderful. That would be, could be, the palest imagined shadow of what a
world would be like under the rule of the secret use of Scientology with
no remedy in existence." -L. Ron Hubbard PDC Lecture #20

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